The Junior Profiler
by MissdaVinci77
Summary: It is Spencer Reid's first case in the BAU, and it is a tough one. How will the team respond and how will Spencer earn their trust? Will he ever show the skeptical team that he is a valuable member to their team?
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer; I do not own Criminal Minds. You make me sad. So be it!_

…

The old profiler watched his protégé with amusement. The young Doctor Spencer Reid was shifting his weight from foot to foot every second of the elevator ride. He was wringing his hands, swallowing deeply and eyeing the door as if at any moment, it would open to reveal the seventh ring of Hell.

Jason Gideon smiled. Nervousness was good; it kept one on one's toes. He knew Spencer wanted to impress the team. He was young, very young, and looked even younger. But he qualified beautifully and exceeded many expectations. He was ready.

"Relax, Spencer. Remember to breathe, that's very important," joked Gideon. He laughed out loud when Spencer took the time to breathe audibly.

"I'm sorry, it's just-um, guess I'm nervous," coughed Spencer, looking at his feet.

"I hadn't noticed." Reid looked up, eyes wide. "I am a profiler, Spencer, and you are probably one of the easiest people I have ever read." Reid blushed and went back to wringing his hands.

The elevator stopped, opened, and Spencer Reid saw the BAU office for the first time.

A line of desks on either side of the room was the first thing Spencer observed, probably for his fellow teammates. There were offices a few stairs up and Reid knew one was for Jason and the other was for Aaron Hotchner.

Spencer's eyebrows rose when he saw a woman dressed in a hot pink polka dotted dress, bright pink heels, walk by. Her hair was in pigtails, sticking out in opposite directions with the help of yellow and orange scrunchies. She stopped when she saw Jason.

"Hey, Boss Man, whose your friend?" she asked in a sweet tone, eyeing Reid, who shifted uncomfortably.

"This is Dr. Spencer Reid, the newest installment to our BAU team," announced Gideon, and Spencer thought that there might be a hint of pride in Jason's voice, but that could just be wishful thinking.

The woman looked from Jason, to Reid, to Jason, and back again to Reid, barely blinking, probably due to the espresso in her hands. Finally she spoke.

"He's adorable!" she exclaimed walking right up to a stunned Spencer.

"Hello, cutie pie, I am Penelope Garcia, Queen of all things with keyboards and screens. Let me be the first to welcome you to the family!" She was shaking his hand throughout her entire speech. "Oh, you are just going to love it here! Best people ever, but let me warn you ahead of time; if the Derek Morgan fellow starts being a meanie, tell me and I will be on him like a spider monkey on crack. No way will he mess with my new friend, nope-"

"Garcia!" announced Jason, interrupting her mid speech.

"Yessir?"

"Please give Spencer his arm back."

She stopped shaking it and placed it neatly at his side. "There you go. Well, I should be going. JJ says you have a case, so looks like Doc here gets to jump right into things. Adios!" And with that, she left.

"Nice meeting you!" called Spencer after he recovered from the initial shock. He liked her!

"She is a fun one," mused Gideon before shaking his head and walking towards what Spencer assumed was the conference room. "Ready to meet the team?"

"Um, okay," said Spencer, trying to keep his squeak to a minimum. Jason smiled and answered, "Calm…breathe, they will love you, just give them time." And with that, Jason pushed the door open.

The team was gathered around a circular table, facing a petite blonde woman with a remote controlling the images in front of her. Heads swiveled around to look at the newbie they had been expecting, and Spencer saw the large, dark-skinned man crack a smile.

"I would like to introduce Dr. Spencer Reid, our newest member," said Gideon for the second time that day.

Silence. Then a tall, serious-looking man with dark hair and eyes stood up. "Nice to meet you, I'm SSA Aaron Hotchner."

Reid shook his hand nervously, praying that it wasn't sweaty. The man continued. "This is Agent Derek Morgan and Jennifer Jareau, or JJ." The dark skinned man looked ready to laugh while the blonde smiled politely.

"Hello," said Reid semi-softly, waving his hand a bit. Finally, Derek Morgan broke through the awkwardness and said the question everyone was secretly wanting to ask.

"Really, are you serious?" He was blunt about it.

Hotch sent him a warning look and Reid sighed internally. It wasn't like he wasn't expecting it. Jason answered, "Yes, Morgan, I am serious."

Morgan looked confused, as if there was something he couldn't piece together, before settling on his next question. "Doctor? How old are you, kid?"

"Um, 23," said Reid, shifting his weight.

"You went to medical school?" Morgan was now leaning towards the young doctor, eyeing him with curiosity. JJ rolled her eyes in the background.

"No, but I have doctorates in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Engineering and have Bachelor's in Psychology and Sociology," said Reid, speaking rather fast. He always hated telling people of his degrees, usually because of the after-effect it had.

And here it was…the silence and wide eyes, open mouths…

Jason spoke again. "He also has an IQ of 187, eidetic memory and can read 20,000 words per minute. Now that we have the statistics on poor Spencer here, shall we get started on the ACTUAL CASE?" stressed Reid, clapping a hand on the young man's back and giving JJ a look that clearly meant 'get started'.

Reid appreciated it. He hated having attention on him. Jason sat down and Spencer sat down next to him, and next to Morgan as well, who was still staring at him like he was a freak show.

Oh, this was going to be fun…

…

_Author's Note:_

_Let me know what you think! I love reviews. And btw, I don't know how old Reid was when he started…_

_I have sad news, however, especially for people who read my other stories. I will be leaving tomorrow and won't be back until the sixth of July, which is a Tuesday. THEN I will be leaving that Friday and won't be back till the 23__rd__. I just wanted to give you warnings._

_AND PLEASE KNOW THAT I AM NOT ABANDONING THESE STORIES WHEN YOU SEE I HAVEN'T UPDATED FOR A COUPLE WEEKS! I WILL be back and I WILL update first thing and I WILL return with awesome ideas for more stories!_

_I appreciate you guys not totally ditching me and that you continue to review, so muchas gracias!_

_I'll try to maybe post tomorrow before I leave, but I don't think I will be able to. If not then I will see you all on the sixth __. I don't want to leave fanfiction!_

_Until then, With love, MissdaVinci77_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: I do not own my fav TV show, sigh_

…_.._

"Over the past two months, four couples have gone missing in Phoenix, Arizona," started JJ, bringing up pictures of four smiling young couples. "Only the men's bodies have been found and they were discovered three days after the abduction. The women are still missing."

Reid was scanning the folder given to him quickly, memorizing every important fact to the last word.

"The men were obviously tortured but no forensic evidence was found," JJ continued. "The most recent couple is Eric Copella and Shannon Heart, both twenty and residents of the city. They were abducted two days ago."

"So we have one day to find our unSub before we find Eric," said Morgan, knowing that they would most likely discover Eric's corpse.

"It sounds like it," sighed JJ.

Finally, Reid spoke up. "The abductions seem to be getting closer together. The time between the first two was two weeks, then a week, then four days," he said, still breezing through the file.

"Then it won't be long before another couple goes missing," said Hotch, sternly. "Wheels up in twenty."

"JJ, I want a press conference the second we get our profile together," said Jason to the blonde. "Hotch, you and I will start with a geographical profile. Morgan and Reid, focus on victimology."

Reid nodded, but caught Morgan out of the corner of his eye shift. He knew Morgan didn't exactly feel like babysitting the newbie.

Nonetheless, the team gathered their things and headed for the jet.

…

A small table separated the large agent from the scrawny one. Pictures of the couples were spread out before them.

"Okay kid, show me how," said Morgan, leaning back in his chair and staring at Spencer. Spencer, refusing to show the older agent that he was intimidated, began.

"All the victims were between the ages of twenty and twenty five," began Spencer after clearing his throat. "Males all have brown hair, brown eyes as well as the females. He's particular. He knows what he's looking for so they most likely represent people from his past: father and mother, or even himself and a wife."

Spencer looked at Morgan, who raised an eyebrow, motioning that Reid should continue.

"The dumpsites are all different but the locations suggest that he thinks of them as garbage; one is next to a sewer, another in an alleyway next to a dumpster; they all suggest that he holds no respect for men, or specifically, those kinds of men."

Morgan stared at him for a minute before nodding. "Not too bad, but you missed a few things. This guy specifically picked out dating couples, meaning that the woman the victims represent is probably unmarried. Not a wife, but a girlfriend or single parent. This shows that he watches people around him and finds a way to isolate his victims away or follow them away from public view. He's smart, organized and patient. He knows what he wants and he gets it; no exceptions."

Spencer nodded, taking in Morgan's words. "He has to be local, though," said Morgan, leaning back into his seat. "There are millions of people in that city and all of them have been in a sixty mile radius, according to Gideon."

"About one and a half million," said Reid, looking at a photo of the latest victims.

"What?" asked Morgan, staring at Reid.

"One and a half million. A rough population estimate for Phoenix. About one sixth of the population of the state," answered Reid, looking up at the agent.

Morgan stared at him, mouth open slightly and eyebrow raised. "And you know this how?"

"It's, um, just statistics. I read them once someplace, or something," mumbled Reid, looking back at the photo, embarrassed.

"And you remember it from someplace, sometime?"

"I have an eidetic memory, I remember those kinds of things." Reid was uncomfortable.

"Huh," said Morgan, and Reid could have sworn he sounded impressed. Maybe. Possibly. "Not too bad, kid. Good preliminary victimology we got ourselves here."

And Reid couldn't help but smile slightly at that.

…..

_Author's Note:_

_I know it's really short, but I promise the next will be longer. I hope you enjoyed! I love Morgan and Reid!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer: I must admit, I do not own this Criminal Minds_

…

"_Is solace anywhere more comforting than that in the arms of a sister?" ~ Alice Walker_

The jet landed after a flight that was quicker than what Spencer expected. Hotch and Gideon had already assigned them to their positions: JJ and Gideon would see the Sheriff and then go out to the most recent dump site. Morgan would get everything organized and ready at the station, telling the working officers what they knew so far. Spencer and Hotch were to go talk to the sister of the most recently abducted girl.

Spencer sat shot-gun next to the intimidating Hotch. Spencer wished that once, just once, the SSA would smile. It was rather unnerving.

"Since this is your first time," started Hotch, eyes not leaving the road, "I just want to make sure you are aware of how the BAU handles circumstances like these."

Reid looked at Aaron. "Okay, that would be good." He didn't want to make a complete fool of himself during his first interview.

"We don't know is Shannon is dead or alive so neither does her sister. She'll be stressed out, which could either mean crying a lot or being extremely defensive. It goes either way."

Spencer nodded. He learned a long time ago that he would never comprehend the female mind.

"Don't speak to her comfortingly. First of all, we don't want to give her false hope and second, she needs to know that she is vital to our case, which she may be.

"We need to find out everything we can about Shannon and Eric's personalities. We have files at the station with the statements of the other relatives from the previous victims. We need to know where they were, if they were expecting to meet anyone, if they had a stalker or someone that they were afraid of… everything clear, Reid?" asked Hotch, looking briefly at his new team member.

"Crystal."

They parked in front of a small two story white cozy home. Light pink flowers lined the perimeter and the pathway to the door. To the naked eye, nothing appeared to be wrong. The only sense of unease to the house was in the window; a petite blonde woman stared through at the SUV, eyes red and puffy, arms crossed.

The victim's sister, Marie, was waiting for them.

…..

Gideon stared at the dumpsite and sighed. The latest victim, Stephen Carson, was dumped inside of a dumpster, his body covered so that garbage men wouldn't discover it. He had just turned 21 last week…

"Any substantial evidence?" asked JJ, staring at the victim's mutilated body.

"A few hair fibers," said the Sheriff, "but nothing in the system. Definitely no criminal record here or anywhere else."

Gideon sighed. Of course there was no record. This unSub was neat, organized. He didn't worry about hair samples because he knew the police would have nothing to compare it to. He was too smart to get caught.

But what on Earth was he doing with the women? Were they dead, just hidden somewhere else? Were they alive and if so, where would he keep them?

Their unSub was definitely male, between the ages 18 and 30, around the same age as the victims. Only the males were found dead. They had been subdued and tortured and there was no sign of toxins in their blood. They were completely coherent the whole time.

Gideon just sighed again. There was nothing else they would be able to gather from the site. Hopefully, Hotch and Reid were having more luck.

…..

The second Marie opened the door, a huge Rottweiler bolted through the door and barked ferociously at Spencer. The creature's teeth were bared. It completely ignored Hotch, solely focused on the young doctor, looking ready to attack at any moment. Reid stood completely still, terrified to move, throughout the dog's attack.

"Pee- Wee! Bad girl! Go sit down. I mean it, Pee-Wee, now!" said Marie, grabbing the dog by the spiked collar around its neck. She looked apologetically up at Spencer.

"Pee-Wee?" questioned Reid, trying to get his voice to come back down to its normal pitch.

"She's a sweetheart, I swear. I don't know what's gotten into her," she said, looking over at her dog, confused.

Hotch just raised an eye at Spencer and turned to Marie. "Mrs. Davis, I'm SSA Hotchner and this is Agent Dr. Spencer Reid. We're with—"

"I know who you're with. I saw the news. I figured it was just a matter of time before you came by," said Marie, crossing her arms again. She seemed relatively composed, but her eyes betrayed her. They were glossy with unshed tears. "Please, come in."

The house was simple, but pretty. In the far corner of the room, was a little white crib with a young baby inside, starting to get fussy.

"Aw, shh, sweetie. It's okay Rachel, they're here to help Sissy," cooed Marie, letting some tears fall. The baby looked at the men with bright blue inquisitive eyes before resting her glance on Reid. Suddenly, she began to completely wail. She was hysterically wailing.

"Rachel, shh, Sweetie," said Marie, turning the baby back to her. When Rachel saw her face, her cries stopped, but resumed again when she laid eyes on Reid again.

Spencer suppressed a groan. First Pee-Wee now this? Hotch seemed amused at least.

Once Marie finished comforting the Reid-phobic child, she returned to the profilers. "What can I do to help?"

"You could tell us about your sister; her personality, her relationship with Eric, where they were…" Hotch trailed off.

Marie sat down in a plushy chair, motioning for the profilers to do the same. She sniffled and began. "Shannon is…fantastic. She's bubbly, rarely angry, a great aunt…" said Marie, trying to hold back a sob. She continued. "She's studying to be a child psychologist. She is completely head over heels for Eric," she said, with a tiny laugh.

"How long had they been dating?" asked Reid, avoiding eye contact with the large dog lying under the coffee table, staring at him.

"They just had their year and a half anniversary. That's what they were celebrating when they—" Marie choked the sentence off, not able to finish.

"Do you know where they were going?" asked Hotch.

Marie nodded. "Eric had called me and my husband a few days before that. Marie and I have no other family. Our parents both died a while ago. Eric called to ask for our approval. He was going to propose to Shannon that night out in their favorite part of the local park after dinner at Giuseppe's Italian Restaurant. Their reservation was at eight."

"Did anyone besides you or your husband know where they were going?" asked Reid.

"No one. He wanted the proposal to be a surprise." Marie wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"Had Shannon complained of anyone following her or someone that she wasn't comfortable around?"

"If she was concerned, she never told me," said Marie, "and she tells me everything. We are only two years apart. Actually," she laughed, "two years, two months and two days."

Hotch smiled softly and Reid stared at an envelope on the coffee table labeled, "Eric and Me!" Inside was a stack of pictures about five inches thick.

"Excuse me," said Spencer, picking up the envelope. "Did Shannon give you these?"

"Yeah, last week. They're a bunch of pictures of her and Eric; at the mall, on a road trip, on their camping trip. Why?"

"Are any of these recent?"

"Yeah a bunch. Shannon would give me a copy of every picture she ever took with Eric. Like I said, she adored him, and I was all she had besides him."

"Can we borrow these for a few days?" Marie looked reluctant, so Spencer added, "You'll get them back and I swear we won't damage them in any way."

Finally, Marie nodded. Hotch looked at him with one eyebrow raised and Spencer gave him a look that suggested, "I'll explain later."

As the profilers were prepared to leave, Marie turned to them one last time. "You find my sister, okay? Ei-either way, I need to know you found her."

Slowly, Hotch nodded. "We'll do our best, ma'am."

They walked to the car and Spencer explained. "We know this guy stalks them, right? Waits for them to be alone, knows their schedules, knows they are dating and are serious. This stack of pictures is huge. If we look at the recent ones, maybe Shannon was lucky enough to capture the unSub on film."

Hotch stopped outside the driver's door. "Good thinking, Reid."

Reid smiled and reached for the handle when a piercing alarm went off, causing Reid to spring into the air. Damn car alarm….

Hotch calmly took out his keys, undid the alarm and unlocked the door. "Cars, kids, and dogs…" mumbled Aaron.

Reid jumped into his seat, embarrassed. "The Reid Effect," joked Hotch, making the young doctor blush.

They drove back to the station, ready to meet Jason, Derek and JJ and to put together their profile.

…

_Author's Note:_

_This is how I pictured the Reid Effect coming to be! Cute, no?_

_Tell me what you think, cause I'm having a lot of fun writing this story _

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	4. Chapter 4

_Disclaimer: still not owning_

…_.._

"_Time discovers truth" ~Seneca_

Hotch and Reid entered the police station and were greeted by the waiting faces of their team members and police officers.

They were ready for the profile.

Jason started: "Our murderer is male somewhere between the ages of 18 to 30."

"How do you know that?" questioned a young officer. The profile had barely begun and the officers were already showing their disbelief. What little faith law enforcement had in a strong profile…

"The unSub chose to kill the men, the tougher, stronger of the two people he abducted," said Morgan. "And to move the bodies to the dumpsites and even haul one into a dumpster shows strength that most women are not capable of."

"What if he had a partner?"

"Men like this don't work well with others," said Hotch sternly.

"What kind of man is he?"

"A sadist," said Hotch. "A person who enjoys watching the pain on his victim's face. A man who gets pleasure out of knowing that he caused this pain."

"And that means he's male?" The man still sounded skeptical.

"Over 95% of sadists are male," said Reid. "Most of them, around 85%, are sexual sadists. The unSub probably has some sexual motive for his kills."

"And the age?"

"It's around the age of our victims," said Gideon. "Most serial killers that kill both male and female kill people around their age. The older the killer gets, the less strict they are with pin pointing an age. But our killer has a very specific age he likes."

The police officer stopped his questions, and Jason got the hint to continue with the profile.

"Based on the victimology, the unSub prefers brown hair brown eyed men and women. They most likely stand for someone in his life. His parents, or maybe even himself with a girlfriend. So pay close attention to the appearance of the unSub and look for brown hair brown eyes, but don't rule anything out."

"He's smart and organized," said Hotch. "He follows his victims for days, maybe even weeks, and determines that this is the couple he wants to find."

"Because of this, the unSub is definitely local," said Reid, leaning on a desk and facing the police with the envelope of pictures still in his hand.

"And one more thing," said Morgan before they dismissed the squad. "This unSub will have no record. He's way too smart to get caught. Every hair sample you find, every piece of skin, every finger print; he doesn't care if you find it because he knows there are no paths connecting him to it unless you specifically find him and take his sample. He's confident, and as of now, he has no reason not to be."

…

JJ and Reid stared at the mass of pictures displayed before them. They had started out with the bulletin board, but had progressed to spreading them across the floor, walls, and single desk in the middle of the room. JJ looked exhausted while Spencer showed no sign of slowing down. Just on connection…that's all he needed.

But it was hard. There were hundreds of pictures and they were focused on the two smiling individuals, making the background people and images relatively blurry.

At one point JJ had gotten excited when she saw the same ugly man with a huge bald spot in three pictures, but Spencer pointed out sadly that they had all been taken during their camping trip and within a fifteen minute time difference. The bald spotted man was not seen in any other photos.

The coffee cup stack grew as the hours went by, Reid's considerable more so than JJ's. Now Spencer was annoyed. Time, the only thing they couldn't afford to lose, was running out for Eric, and maybe Shannon.

Then he saw it. Them, actually. He saw them; the two links.

"JJ!" he cried, causing the blonde, who appeared to be closing her eyes droopily, (It was about one in the morning), shot straight up into the air giving a little yelp and almost falling off her chair.

"SPENCER! Oh my God, don't DO that! Wait, I can't breathe." JJ leaned her head into her hands and breathed deeply.

Reid blushed and apologized profusely, but JJ could see that he was trying really hard to hide back a laugh that was threatening to escape.

"Oh, stop smirking and tell me why you decided to scare the shit out of me," she said, feigning anger but smirking along next to Reid.

Reid crawled along the path of photos, gathering eight of them up, and maneuvering back to JJ.

"Two of these are from a camping trip, one from the beach, three from their home, and two from the park. Various locations, different states, even."

JJ stared closely, before saying, "There! I see it, the car."

"Exactly! The two camping ones, the beach, one from the home and one in the park all have some old boxy light blue car in the back. And it's parked in all of them, like it's waiting for something. I don't know what kind…" he trailed off.

"There, see that on the corner?" JJ pointed to a small insignia on the corner of the dilapidated vehicle. "That's a Volvo definitely. But what about the other pictures? I don't see it…"

"It's the man. The others from their home and the park all have this man in it," said Reid, gesturing excitedly to a large dark haired man.

"But how do you know it's the same guy? I mean, it's blurry and all."

"I can't for certain, but we can send the photos to Garcia and she can enhance them, right?" said Reid, a little uncertain. He didn't know how much this Penelope Garcia could be able to do for them.

"Trust me," said JJ with a laugh. "Penelope Garcia is capable of absolutely everything." So Reid took out his phone and began to dial Garcia's extension for the first time.

"Welcome to the cave of unparalleled knowledge and beauty. How may I assist you, my oh-so adorable yet sexy Dr. Reid?" came the chipper voice of the computer analyst.

Reid, who was taking a sip of the hot coffee he just poured, choked and coughed before answering. JJ wasn't able to contain her laugh and smiled at the tomato red man in front of her.

"Breathe, Doctor. Always very important in situations like these," said Garcia on the line.

"Right, sorry," apologized Reid, clearing his throat.

"No need to be sorry, Sweet Pea. Miss Garcia's hilarious humor takes a wee bit of time to get used to, I'm afraid. So whataya got, Blushing Beauty?"

It only deepened his flush, but he continued without losing oxygen this time. "I'm going to send you some pictures. Do you think you can enhance the tall dark-haired man in the background and tell if it's the same guy?"

"Honey, did I not way this was the cave of unparalleled knowledge?"

"And beauty," replied JJ.

"Exactly. Ergo, I have vast amounts of power. Ergo, I can do anything. Ergo-"

"Okay! Okay, I get it," said Reid, smiling. "Infinite knowledge. I'll need to remember that."

"Remember it, memorize it, tattoo it to the inside of your eyelids, my young doctor!"And she hung up.

Silence. Then, "She likes you," said JJ smiling.

"Really?" said Reid, and he felt excited to know that so far, one member of the team seemed to have officially accepted him.

"Definitely."

Just then, Gideon came into the room in a hurry. But before Reid could tell him what they found, Gideon began to speak.

"I need all of you with me. We need to take a drive."

"Why, what's wrong?" asked JJ, getting her bag and following Gideon with Reid behind her.

"We found Eric Copella's body."

….

_Author's Note:_

_Yay, I'm back! How I missed my computer so….To everyone who reviewed while I was away, hugs and kisses you rock!_

_I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday, but jet-lag is a pain in the you-know-what and I fell asleep at like six._

_Review por favor and I will love you forevers and evers._

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	5. Chapter 5

_Disclaimer: Sigh, you're going to make me say it? I don't own anything you recognize, erg!_

…_.._

"_Death always comes too early or too late."~ British Proverb_

The excitement that JJ and Reid had felt at their discovery quickly vanished. Reid felt his heart plummet at the thought of having to tell Shannon's sister that her future brother-in-law was now dead for certain.

And was her sister going to be next?

They drove to the dumpsite: a large garbage dump site. He was found on the outskirts by the broken fence. His body was mutilated, even more so than the others. _He's getting angrier,_ thought Reid. Or he was just a particularly hard fighter. Reid decided that it was a little of both after observing the defense marks around Eric's wrists and forearms.

Reid had to force himself to not stop in his tracks when he gaze found the body. He suddenly wished he hadn't had any breakfast. But what was he to expect? It was his first dead body…and it was gruesome. Very much so.

But he couldn't stop. He needed to keep moving. He couldn't-wouldn't- allow the team to see that this was affecting him worse than them. He needed to prove he could do this.

Spencer felt Morgan's gaze on him as the neared the body. Swallowing hard, and trying not to breathe through his nose, he walked over to Eric Copella's body.

There wasn't an inch of him that wasn't bruised. Gashes covered his skin, but what stood out the most to Spencer and the team, were the bruises around his neck. He was strangled, like the others, but this was much more violent. It was apparent that some of the bruising occurred post mortem.

Spencer was startled when Gideon proceeded to kneel down next to the decaying body to get a closer look. Reid's stomach churned as he observed this. There was no way he could ever get that close and personal with a corpse.

But what was bothering Reid the most was the overwhelming sadness he felt looking at Eric. Just a few days ago, he was happy. Almost engaged, with someone he cared about…Reid pictured Eric and Shannon eating breakfast, walking hand in hand, watching TV, all the things that were ripped away from them because of one whacked-up sonofabitch.

"-getting more aggravated, don't you think?" Reid realized that Derek was asking him something. He hadn't heard.

"Hmm, what?" he said ever so gracefully, but hoping he was able to disguise his facial features before Morgan realized what he was thinking. He did work with profilers…he needed to be careful.

"The attacks? They're getting worse," said Morgan, staring pointedly at Reid. He knew. But Reid just continued as if this exchange of glances never occurred.

"Definitely. The post mortem bruising shows the unSub's particular hatred for Eric," mused Reid, looking at Gideon, standing over the body.

Just then, a local news truck pulled up, cameras and anchors piling out of its back. JJ hurried forward to try to keep the press under control.

Morgan was still eyeing Reid, who made it a point not to look towards him and keep his face expressionless.

Hotch spoke up. "There's nothing more we can do here. We'll send him to autopsy, get the official cause of death. We're all exhausted. We'll head over to the hotel, get a good night's rest, and be at it first thing in the morning, agreed?"

The team nodded, and Reid had to suppress a yawn. The caffeine was wearing off, although he doubted he'd be able to sleep tonight. Every time he blinked, he saw Eric's throat, the blood, the bruises…

"You okay, kid?" said Morgan quietly, to Reid. Reid jumped, not realizing Morgan was still staring at him.

"Fine," he said, putting up a false smile that didn't reach his eyes.

Not going to get out of this one… "Listen, Reid, it's normal to feel—"

"I'm fine Morgan. Really," said Reid, lying, and he walked away, leaving a sighing Morgan behind him.

….

_Love, Spencer, _signed Reid, placing the letter into an envelope and licking it closed. He saw a post office about a block away. He'd send the letter to Vegas in the morning.

He remembered the letter he wrote to his mom explaining that he was going to go on his first case. He wondered if she was excited. He never got letters back. But he knew she would be, and maybe a little worried.

Reid sighed and looked around his tiny hotel room. The walls were a bland beige with a single boring piece of artwork on the wall above his twin sized bed, covered in a white fluffy comforter. There was a single desk with a single wooden chair that he was currently occupying.

And despite the total blandness and boringness of the room, and despite the absolute softness blanket Reid had ever felt in his entire life, he couldn't keep his eyes closed for more than five minutes.

He knew why. He was physically and emotionally exhausted and he wanted nothing more to fall into a deep empty sleep. But it wasn't going to happen. Tonight, at least…

The knock on his door caused him to physically fall off his uncomfortable chair and onto the hard carpeted floor.

"Dammit," he muttered, straightening up and going over to the door, looking through the peephole.

Morgan.

Resigning from the fact that he couldn't just ignore his now co-worker, he slowly opened the door and saw Morgan, in gray sweatpants and a black FBI t-shirt, waiting for him.

"Can I come in?" he asked, taking in everything from Reid's red plaid bottoms, black shirt, and mused hair, to the large purple bags under the agent's hazel eyes.

Reid just opened the door up wider, motioning that Morgan could enter. He did and sat down on the edge of the bed, motioning for Reid to do the same.

Reid sat down stiffly, wondering what was going to come. He felt vulnerable in his pajamas as opposed to his work clothes, which were still packed in his go-bag in the corner.

"Relax, kid, contrary to belief, I don't bite, unless you're Penelope Garcia," joked the agent opposite Spencer. Listening to the older agent, Reid got comfortable and brought his lanky legs up onto the bed, crossing them.

"Now, while I'm talking, if I hear one 'I'm fine' from your mouth, I might just have to deck you," said Morgan to a blushing Reid. "I saw your face at the dumpsite."

Reid repressed the I'm fine that was threatening to escape his lips, and closed his mouth tightly.

"And I know what's going on in that massive brain of yours," Derek continued. "You don't want to say anything, because you think you'll sound weak. That you can't handle the job. But let me be the first to tell you that every single person, cop and agent there today felt the exact same way as you did today."

Reid looked up, a disbelieving expression on his face, not trusting his voice to speak. Yeah, right…

"I'm completely serious kid. What kind of people would we be if we didn't let this stuff get to us?"

"It's our job to not get effected," muttered Reid, not looking at Morgan, shifting awkwardly on the bed.

"See, that's where you're wrong. Our job is to stay unbiased, not that we shouldn't resist emotion. In fact, we _need _to feel on this job. All the hate, sadness, pain-we need to feel it. Our own, the victim's, and the unSub's. In order to stay human, we need to feel this. As well as to be good at our jobs."

Reid looked up, frowning slightly. "So what do I do?"

Morgan knew what he was talking about. He had felt it too. And seen it. The victims, the blood, the pain etched on their faces.

"Know that by the time we're home in a few days, we'll have gotten this guy, and no one will be hurt once he's gone."

"But before that? He's killed all the men, and we can't even _find _the women. They could already be dead for all we know. But all those people he killed…" Reid knew how he sounded. Pained, more like a concerned citizen than a FBI genius.

"Feel for them, because they can't for themselves," said Morgan, eyeing the young boy in front of him.

Morgan internally sighed. It was hard to watch such a young kid have to come face to face with this reality so early on in his life. Spencer should be in college or school somewhere, still training, preparing for these events.

But he wasn't. He was in the middle of it all, because he was different, special… and his life would never be the same after this. But he would cope. They all do…

Reid just nodded, and he felt somewhat calmer, more relaxed than he had before Morgan's grand confrontation. He suddenly felt even more drained than he was previously and he felt his eyes droop slightly.

Morgan got up, clapped him on the shoulder and said, "Get some sleep, Reid. See you bright and early tomorrow."

Reid nodded again, but right before Derek shut the door, Reid turned around. "Morgan?"

"Yeah, kid?"

"Thanks."

It was Morgan's turn to just nod, and shut the door behind him.

….

_Author's Note:_

_Yay, he's being accepted. I love Morgan Reid bonding ;)_

_Don't you?_

_Thanks go out to my sis, silvermoony77, who rox and, although not meaning to, helped me out with this chap._

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	6. Chapter 6

_Disclaimer: Don't own Criminal Minds_

…

"_Good men must die, but death cannot kill their __names__.__" ~Proverb _

The man sat in his run-down car, watching. He loved watching. He was able to find out so much about his victims that way. He could always tell what scumbags those men were; the way they treated their women. He knew that, subconsciously, those dirty horrendous fools were killing those beautiful, innocent creatures.

And it was his job to make it stop.

He watched as the two lovebirds exited the car, parked in the parking lot of the local park. The sun was just beginning to set over the trees. _How romantic…._

The couple was on the move and he knew that, in order to carry out the plan, he needed to get out and follow them. Sighing, he took on last long look at the photo on his dashboard. Gabby smiled back at him, her grin wide, but not quite reaching her dark eyes…her eyes were lifeless, void of all emotion.

He stepped out of the car, slamming the door, and followed the two with his bag around his shoulder. He walked for about ten minutes, carefully keeping his distance so as not to warn the couple of his interest of them. It wasn't until they reached the center of the walking trail, hidden by a cover of heavy trees, that he made his move.

"Excuse me!" he called out, waving his hand in the general direction of the two.

The woman turned first, curiosity brimming in her eyes. So beautiful…her hair reminded him of Gabby's; thick, brown and straight. The man turned later, and he had to suppress a scowl as he looked upon the man on the woman's arm. His brown eyes mocked the man, and the unSub only felt hate and loathing for this disgusting specimen in front of him. But he couldn't let them know he was a threat…he needed to play nice.

"My cell phone died, and I was wondering if I could borrow yours to tell my wife that she can't reach me," lied the unSub easily.

"Sure," said the man, reaching into his jean pocket to produce the phone. But while he was distracted, the unSub reached for the crowbar he had hidden in his messenger bag and swung it, feeling excited when he heard the sickening crack of metal meeting bone. The girl was about to scream when the unSub produced a black pistol, aiming it at her beloved's head.

"Uh uh uh…" sang the man, clicking the top of the gun, letting her know it was loaded. The sun had, at this point, set completely and the man knew from watching the park these past few days that no one dared stay out after sundown. Except these two…

"You, my dear, will follow me to my car. Look, your boy's fine, he's getting up." It was true that the young man was stirring, not having been completely knocked out. The girl helped him stand, following the unSub's orders and they began the trek back to the car, the gun pointed at the young man's head the entire time.

And they drove off into the night, leaving no hint that anything terrible had occurred on this peaceful warm night.

….

"I am calling to speak to my little lovebug friend," said Penelope through the phone, which was on speaker.

"I'm here, Garcia," said Spencer, blushing slightly but choosing to ignore the comment.

After Morgan's talk with Spencer the night before, Reid had been surprised to find that he slept rather well. He felt refreshed by the morning and ready to go. He knew that it was only a matter of days, maybe hours, before another couple went missing.

He was also startled to realize that he had forgotten to mention to Gideon and Hotch what he and JJ had noticed the day before, before they went to see the body. He felt a momentary rush of pride when he remembered Hotch's approving nod in his direction when JJ claimed that it was all Spencer's doing, finding the connections.

"Okay, so as I said, being the techiest, most amazing, beautiful goddess that I am, I was indeed able to enhance the photos you sent, and before we continue, I would like to take this moment to say, I TOLD YOU SO!" she cried gleefully. Gideon chuckled while Spencer admitted, "You're right, my mistake. Won't happen again."

"You bet your cute butt it won't!"

"GARCIA!" cried Spencer in pure embarrassment.

"Sorry, sorry, getting to the point. So I enhanced the photo and it is indeed the same guy. I'm sending you the clear photo as we speak. Pretty good visual, JJ might want to release this one.

"And I also did a bit of digging on the car. I got the first three letters slash numbers of the license plate and ran them through the data base. There is only one light blue Volvo that old registered with those plate numbers. It's owned by a Jacob Little, and he is anything but tiny. I've only got one thing on a criminal record and that's for stalking his ex-girlfriend, Gabriel Santiago, who filed a restraining order in June of this past year. Stressor, possibly?"

"Garcia," said Hotch, "you're a genius."

"Don't I know it. So did I crack your case?"

"Almost. Now we have to find him," said Gideon. "Morgan and Reid, go talk to the girlfriend. See if she knows where he might be able to keep the women, or where he can be found. Garcia, is there anyone else related to Little?"

"Nope. Parents deceased, and only one aunt that lives in Russia somewhere. Hasn't made contact in years it seems."

JJ's cell phone rang and she exited the room to answer. Reid and Morgan were getting ready to leave when she re-entered.

"Another couple was just declared missing," eyeing the team. "Lola Gardner and Benjamin Anderson, both 24."

"How long?" said Morgan, rubbing his eyes.

"About a day. Locals have been notified recently to report missings earlier what with a serial killer on the loose, especially if they fit the profile."

"Hotch and I will go talk to the family," said Gideon. "Morgan and Reid, stick to the girlfriend."

"Got it," said Morgan, exiting the room, flanked by the youngest.

They were running out of time…

…

_Author's Note:_

_Dadadaduuuuuhhh, like?_

_Review button is oh so lonely and would be oh so happy if it was pressed, soooooo…._

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	7. Chapter 7

_Disclaimer: I own nada_

…_._

"_There is a fine line between serendipity and stalking." ~David Coleman_

"Ms. Santiago?" called Morgan, knocking on the door to the apartment. The building was run down, to say the least. Garbage was strewn across the ground and parking lot, making it look like a junkyard. Multicolored graffiti zigzagged along the dirty white cement walls, writing out crude comments and disgusting pictures. Morgan was afraid to knock to hard on the door; it looked like it was ready to fall off the hinges already.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" came the frazzled voice from behind the door. The knob turned as a pretty young Latino woman appeared in the doorway. Her hair was hastily pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed like she had just come back from work. "Can I help you?" She looked expectantly between the two agents.

"I'm Agent Morgan and this is Agent Dr. Reid. We're FBI." The woman paled, but Morgan continued. "It's about your boyfriend."

"Ex," she said hastily. She opened the door up wider. "Please come in."

She poured two cups of coffee and handed a mug to each agent. "Whatever Jacob did, I swear I didn't know about it. I haven't talked to him in months."

Reid exchanged glances with Morgan. If she only knew the half of it…

"We're here about the restraining order you filed against him," said Reid, saying it more like a question than a statement. "Can you tell us what caused you to do this?"

Gabrielle barked out a laugh, running her hands through her hair, which was falling out of her rubber band. "So many reasons, agents."

They motioned for her to continue.

"I had been dating Jacob since November of the previous year," she began, taking a seat and gesturing for the agents to do the same. "Everything was fantastic until about March.

"Jacob had lost his job. He worked for a small company, and they began laying people off, and Jacob was one of those people. I was barely making ends- meet with my job; I'm a secretary at a very tiny local law firm. Anyway, with all the spare time on his hands, he took to drinking, which led to the drugs, which led to the temper tantrums-"

"Did he ever hurt you, ma'am?" asked Morgan, eyebrow raised.

"All the time. Until I had enough. I kicked him out on his ass in early May. Threw the clothes out the window and everything," she said with a small, proud smile. "Then the flowers came."

"Flowers?" questioned Morgan.

"Yes. Roses, lilies, sunflowers…my favourite."

"How often did this happen?" asked Reid.

"At least once a week. Usually more, though. It depended on how much cash he could obtain that week. Each time it came with a letter, apologizing, saying how much he missed me and that all he wanted was for us to be together forever…he said we were fate," she said, laughing a small, unconvincing laugh as her eyes began to get a little wet. "Then he got angrier, once he realized I wasn't answering him back. The letters went from endearing to hateful, and I would wake up in the middle of the night and see him down on the pavement below my window.

"I changed the locks," she said, sniffing. "I contacted the police, but they didn't seem him as 'threatening' just yet."

"What changed their minds?" said Reid gently.

"I come home from work on night to find him at the sink, holding my kitchen knife with that stupid smirk on his face that he used to get after he got himself high. He beat me up, but I managed to get to the phone and call the police and they tracked my location and scared him off. Son of a bitch was the reason I was in the hospital for two weeks," she spat out. "After that, the restraining order was filed, he got off with a warning, and now he's in trouble again.

"What is it now, huh? Drugs? Bar fight? Stalking?" she listed off.

"Murder," said Morgan bluntly.

Gabrielle was silent for a moment. "Somehow, that doesn't surprise me," she said slowly. "Who did he hurt?"

"5 couples went missing. 4 of the men were found dead. The women and the other male haven't been located yet."

A hand went up to her chin as she looked between the agents. "How do you know it's him?"

"Based just on evidence, we don't," said Reid. "But he fits the profile to a T and he and his car were found too many photos of one of the women to be a coincidence."

"So what do you want me to do?" she asked, not quite knowing her place in all of this.

"First, we want to know if there is anywhere Jacob could keep these people," said Reid quickly. "A warehouse or barn, perhaps?"

"A cottage," she said quickly. "He and his friends used to go up to the lake and get drunk on weekends. His friends haven't been down there this season at all and Jacob always was saying how he wanted to go up there. It's a big cottage right on the lake."

"Reid, call Hotch. Get Garcia to find the address," ordered Morgan.

"It should be listed under Jeffrey Hinders, he owns the house," said Gabrielle to Reid, who nodded and whipped out his phone quickly.

"Second of all, Ms. Santiago," continued Morgan while Reid spoke quickly on the phone, "we want you to come with us back to the police station. Jacob is incredibly unstable right now, and he could be a threat to you, okay?

Gabrielle just nodded in response and followed the agents.

"I should tell you now," she said. "If he is high, or drunk, or whatever, he won't go down without a fight. He will fight you tooth and nail until one of you wins," she warned, eyes displaying her fear.

"We'll win, ma'am," said Morgan, hopping into the driver's seat and driving the three of them back to the station.

….

_Author's Note:_

_Couple of things. Actually, 3. _

_#1. Thank you zannabanana, who is helping me with some awesome details to this fic that shall be revealed later on:)_

_#2. In case you haven't read my profile, I am an art nerd and proud of it. I drew a picture of Reid over vacation, and the only way that I am able to display it is via my avatar photo. Check it out pretty please and tell me what you think! The photo isn't the best and doesn't show all the detail, but you get the gist! It'll only be up for a couple weeks, so look now or you'll never know what you missed, muwahahaha_

_#3. I am leaving for two weeks. Yes, I know, again. I won't post again until the very end of August: date not totally sure of. So stay with me and know that I have not disappeared off the face of the Earth._

_With love, MissdaVinci77 _


	8. Chapter 8

_Disclaimer: I own nothing:(_

…_.._

"_He is a man of courage who does not run away, but remains at his post and fights the enemy." ~ Socrates_

Reid and Morgan hadn't been in the station for more than two minutes before they saw Jason, coat in hand, marching towards the front door they just entered, flanked closely by a serious looking Agent Hotchner. "We've got an address."

And off they went, all squeezing into one large black SUV, followed by three full police cars.

"When we get there, Aaron and Morgan, take the entrance. Reid and I will go around back. I'll have the local officers surround the house. He'll have nowhere to go," said Jason as he drove, quickly speeding through a yellow light and ignoring the honk from the car to his right.

"Gideon, Reid and I talked to Gabrielle. She said if Little is drunk or doped up on something, he'll never back down peacefully," explained Morgan, cringing as Gideon took a hard turn and causing the car's tires to squeal and steam on the pavement.

"Then we do what we need to do," said Jason, as he reached the highway. He floored it, turning his sirens up louder and passing car after car.

…..

They reached the cabin twenty minutes faster than a normal driver would have. Before the car even came to a full stop, Morgan and Hotch opened their doors and sprinted out as Reid quickly followed. Reid did as he was ordered and went around back with Jason. The first thing Reid noticed was the light blue Volvo.

He remembered Garcia briefing the team on the make and model: '65 light blue Volvo Amazon P130. Secretly the exact same car Reid was searching for before he had officially joined the BAU. He couldn't keep taking the subway. Things were adding up, and he needed his own car…

"Gideon!" said Reid into his mic, strapped onto his FBI bullet proof vest. "Got the car on the right side. He's in there."

Before Jason could reply, Morgan's voice came through. "Got a visual. We're going in. Gideon and Reid, you ready to enter from the back?"

"Reid, you wait by the door, in case he manages to slip by us. I'll send backup with you. I'll go in with you, Morgan," replied Gideon.

Reid nodded. He doubted Jason would allow him to take on a fully-pissed off unSub on his first go. He expected this, but a slight wave of disappointment swept through. He wanted to prove himself, but he knew there would be plenty of time for that. Now, they needed to find all those girls…

Reid watched Jason disappear through the door, and he remained alert and prepared by the dark red door, concealing himself so if Jacob looked through the side window, he wouldn't be visible.

From his positioning, he could hear Hotch's voice cry, "FBI! Jacob Little, hands up!"

He heard a cry of annoyance and fury that didn't belong to any member of his team.

"I said hands up!" cried Hotch again. Reid heard crashing and a cry of pain, most likely furniture as Little tried to escape. Was Hotch hurt? He was probably so high out of his mind, he had no idea of the consequences of running from the FBI. Should Reid go in now? But what if Little tried to escape through the back? He couldn't leave it open for Jacob to escape…

"If you surrender now, things are going to much easier," said Gideon through the door. There were sounds of a scuffle, cries of rage from Little, a smack as a punch hit home and a single gunshot, causing Reid to jump, eyes wide. Was Gideon hit? Or did Gideon get Little?

Suddenly, he heard thundering footsteps nearing the door. It had to be Little. Reid took position behind the door as it flew open, nearly smacking him straight on the head. Little hadn't seen him.

As Little turned to his right, Reid jumped out, gun drawn. "Jacob Little! Stop now or I'll shoot!"

Jacob turned, startled by the voice. He wasn't expecting anyone behind here. His glazed, misty eyes found Reid's and Reid felt anger boil in him as Little looked him up and down before barking out hysterical laughs. "You-you-you…gotta be kiddin'…" he slurred incomprehensibly. "A k-kid? God, you-you're, like, like, twelve…twelve, righ-right?"

"I'll shoot," Reid warned, and he would, although he couldn't guarantee he would exactly hit the target. He was an awful shot…

Little's mood changed drastically from one of disbelief to one of pure hatred. The drugs clouded his mind, as his 6'6 frame charged at Reid with surprising speed that Reid underestimated. Pain shot up his torso and left shoulder as Jacob slammed into him, toppling them both onto the hard ground. Before Reid could recover, Little raised a fist, slamming it into Reid's cheek and jaw, causing Reid to spit out blood and see stars.

While trying to sit upright and stand, Reid managed to wrap his arms securely around Little and roll. He tried to get it so he was on the top, but instead, the ground below him disappeared. They had rolled over a steep hill leading into a shallow part of the lake.

Reid closed his eyes but kept his hold on Jacob as they tumbled down the rocky path, causing twigs, branches and sharp stones digging into his body painfully. Finally, their fall was halted by ice cold water engulfing them.

Reid was prepared this time. He immediately began searching for his footing, and found it. His gun was laying two feet in front of him, on the dry shore having fallen out of his hands during their plummet. He reached for it, only to be pulled roughly by the hair and forced under water.

Why wasn't this guy giving up?

His face was stuffed under the water and icy water penetrated his lungs. He fought viciously for air as he felt the rough hand on the back of his neck force him down further. He forced his mind to focus…he remembered his training…

Striking out with his right elbow, he jerked straight upwards, feeling relief flood his already flooded body as he made contact with bone in Little's chest. He heard a cry of pain through the thick, heavy water and the hand released some of the pressure it was applying. Reid used this to his advantage and swung his wet, sopping head up quickly.

He focused on the stumbling Little. The water came up to about their mid-thighs. Lifting his leg out of the water, Reid crashed it back under, crushing the instep of Little's large foot. As Little bent over in pain, Reid swung his elbow back again and smacked it roughly against Little's jaw, sending the large man crashing into the water.

With Little down, Reid lunged for his gun, grabbing the handle carefully so as not to let it slip out of his fingers.

As he did a 180, Reid saw, to his horror and disbelief, Jacob coming at him again. So he did the only thing he could do.

He pressed the trigger.

He saw blood splatter out of the man's hip, close to the outside, but more than a graze. He was finally down. Summoning his remaining energy, Reid grabbed hold of the man's shoulders and managed to drag him through the water and dump him on the dirt, quickly drawing out his hand cuffs and snapping them on him.

Then he collapsed heavily next to the crying man, breathing heavily and trying to remember what oxygen felt like in his lungs. He lurched to the right and vomited a massive amount of lake water. Brushing his wet hair out of his eyes, he looked up the hill they had fallen down.

Reid cringed as they saw the flattened path they had made. It was a Hell of a long way down. Suddenly he saw Morgan's head peaking over the edge. "I GOT HIM! HE'S ALIVE! RIGHT DOWN HERE!" And Morgan began the trek down, quickly followed by a seriously concerned Hotch and, much to Reid's relief, and fully alive and well Jason.

Spencer almost laughed. Almost. Duh, he was alive. Did they expect him to be nailed so quickly into the job?

"Reid!" yelled Hotch.

"SPENCER!" cried Jason.

"I'm fine," he panted, but lying all the same. His lungs killed, his head hurt like Hell, and he was pretty sure he had a dislocated shoulder, not to mention some serious bruising. "I got Little, he's right here."

Morgan reached him first, looked him up and down, and raised his eyebrows incredulously. Reid suspected he looked like a wet puppy…

"Kid? I will NEVER underestimate you again," he sighed, patting Reid heavily on his injured shoulder, causing Reid to bite back a cry of pain. But it didn't go unnoticed by Derek.

"Let me see," he said, as Hotch and Jason stumbled onto the flat ground. Hotch went to Little after nodding at Reid softly, giving him a smile so quick that Reid thought it wasn't ever there.

"I'm fine. Go to Little," said Reid.

"Kid. Now."

Reid sighed as he allowed Morgan to observe the back of the shoulder. Derek placed one hand gently over the top and took hold of Reid's arm. "It's probably just sprained a little. Little is a big guy, when he ran into me…but really, I'm -DAMMIT!" Reid cried out painfully as Derek popped to dislocation back into place roughly.

"What the HELL! A little warning, Christ!" said Reid as reflex tears kicked in.

"You're welcome, Pretty Boy," laughed Morgan. Well that was a new name… "It's better if you don't expect it."

"Says who?" mumbled Reid, but he appreciated it just the same. It still hurt, but the edge was off now.

Jason looked at Reid, before smiling gently after taking in Reid's already forming bruises. "Come on, let's get you out of here. We need to get you checked out, and I think I'll want to hear your story."

"Oh! Wait for me! I wanna hear it too," said Morgan eagerly, as Hotch led the limping, cursing Jacob up the hill.

"Wait! What about the girls? And the other man?" cried Reid.

Gideon smiled sadly. "Both Lola and her boyfriend were found, Benjamin a little worse for wear, but he'll be fine. The other girls weren't located, Reid. We have the officers with the two now."

Reid nodded solemnly, knowing that the case wasn't quite over yet.

He followed Gideon up the hill slowly and painfully. But eventually, with some help on Jason's part, Reid reached the top. He took a moment to catch his breath and looked out over the hill. The lake was quite large, completely surrounded by green grass and trees. To the far right, there was a large shaded area with huge oak trees. But underneath it-

"Gideon!" called Reid urgently.

"Spencer, what is it?" he asked, following Reid's gaze. But Reid didn't need to say anything. Jason saw it.

Under the trees were four patches of freshly dug earth.

Four graves.

"_Of comfort no man speak._

_Let's talk of graves, of worms and epitaphs,_

_Make dust our paper, and with rainy eyes_

_Write sorrow on the bosom of the earth._

_Let's choose executors and talk of wills." ~ William Shakespeare_

….

_Author's Note:_

_My proudest and longest chapter so far. Begging for feedback. So far, you have all been great, keep it up!_

_Once again, thanks to zannabanana:) Helped me soooooooo much, particularly with Reid's future car…(yes that was foreshadowing)_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


	9. Chapter 9

_Disclaimer: Oh how I wished I owned Criminal Minds, but I don't. Alas._

…_._

"_Nothing happens by chance, my friend... No such thing as luck. A meaning behind every little thing, and such a meaning behind this. Part for you, part for me, may not see it all real clear right now, but we will, before long.__" ~ Richard Bach_

"I swear to God, man. If you do not sit that skinny ass down, I will nail it to the ground," growled Morgan, putting a large hand on Reid's uninjured shoulder and giving him a shove so that he was sitting on the end of the ambulance. Reid still craned his neck around his coworker, glancing anxiously at the group of about twenty men under the tree. Each had a shovel.

"Fine! Fine, I'm sitting. But I'm telling you, I'm okay," he grumbled, not paying attention to Derek, his focus somewhere else.

"Yeah? Well, you said the same thing about that arm of yours that I _put back into its socket_," Morgan stressed. He stepped in front of Reid's vision, blocking the party from his view.

"Well, it's all better now. I'm fine," Spencer persisted, leaning the opposite way.

"Not until the paramedics-God Reid, focus! Look at me, not at them," cried Morgan, frustrated, once again stepping in front of Reid's gaze. "Gideon's got it covered, man. Now we need to focus on you."

Reid opened his mouth to say something, but he knew it wouldn't do any good. There was no way Derek was going to let him go over, pick up a shovel, and help. Not with the shape he was in. And now that the adrenaline was beginning to cease, the pain was more evident than ever. His shoulder still felt out of place and even the slightest movement caused Reid to hiss in pain. His face was sore, his throat felt like fire had been forced down it… it even hurt to breathe! But those girls…those graves.

Just then, a paramedic stepped towards the two agents, zeroing in on Reid. He was a middle-aged man, around mid-forties, and spoke with a slight southern accent. "Dr. Reid?"

Reid just nodded, causing his head to throb painfully. "Oh, thank God!" cried Morgan, exhausted.

"Let's see what we're working with here…" For the next ten minutes, Reid was poked, prodded, and examined. His arm was in a sling until 'further notice', he had possibly one or two cracked ribs that would have to be looked at closer and severe bruising. But other than that, he was just wonderful!

The paramedic looked over the side of the hill where Reid had taken his wild ride into the lake. "Lord, have mercy," he said slowly as he looked back towards Reid. "You should be a broken bag of bones!"

Reid raised his eyebrows. "Thank you. That's incredibly comforting," he said in a monotone, sarcasm dripping of every word.

"Hmm, well it should be! You are one incredibly lucky young man, Doctor," he said. "When you are all done here, we can drive you on over to the hospital to get those ribs checked out. Also, they should probably look for a concussion."

"Thank you, sir," said Morgan, as the man left. He looked back at Reid again, starring at him intently.

Finally, Spencer couldn't stand it anymore. "What!"

"He's right, you know."

"Yeah, I know. I probably have a concussion, but it could be worse I guess-"

"You _are_ one lucky kid. You could've nailed your head on a rock, or worse, have Little overpower you…" Reid shuddered at the thought, remembering the water filling his lungs second by second. "But you didn't. And I don't know how the Hell you did it, but you did." They sat in silence for a moment or two. "So, tough first case, yeah?"

Reid just chuckled lightly, wincing as his side ached sharply. "You could say that. But I am now prepared for the field, I would say."

Morgan laughed. "Yeah, I'd say you passed your test."

Morgan held out his hand to Reid. "Welcome to the team, Dr. Reid."

Smiling softly, Reid stuck out his uninjured arm and grasped Morgan's hand, shaking it.

_Welcome to the team, indeed…_

…

Reid had been driven to the hospital by Morgan, refusing to go in an un-needed ambulance. Little was brought back to the station and was in custody, awaiting his interview with Gideon or Hotch, most likely.

X-rays confirmed Reid's ribs being slightly cracked and he did have a mild concussion. The only thing they could really do for him was give him some pain medication, so Reid was free to go in a few hours. Now he just awaited his team, hoping that they would tell him the graves were empty.

Finally, about two hours later, Gideon knocked on Reid's hospital door. Spencer was fully dressed and watching the clock, waiting for the hour and minute hands to tell him he was free to leave. The sling was annoying, but the doctor said it could come off in a couple of weeks.

Spencer looked up the moment he heard Gideon and motioned him in. "Was it them?" Gideon hadn't even shut the door when the question blurted out of Spencer's mouth. Gideon sighed as he saw Reid bite his lip softly as he awaited the news.

"Yes. Abigail Sanchez, Monica Curtly, Violet Law, and Shannon Heart were all found in individual crudely made wooden coffins. They were strangled to death." Gideon cringed as he saw Reid's eyes fill with horror upon hearing this. This was his first case. Gideon had hoped that everything would go well. Sure, they had caught the guy responsible, but they had the chance to find the girls alive. But Spencer would have had to have seen something like this eventually. Maybe it was better that it was early in his career…

Reid opened and closed his mouth several times before words finally came out. "What am I going to tell her sister?" he whispered.

Gideon sighed. "You didn't promise her you'd get her home safely, did you?" Gideon knew Reid would never do something like that, but he needed to check.

Reid shook his head. "No, but we said we'd find her." Reid wasn't looking at Jason.

"And you did, Reid. And while that isn't anywhere near what she wants to hear, it will be comforting to her in time."

Reid looked up solemnly, and nodded.

"You don't have to go talk to her, you know," said Gideon. "Hotch could do it, or Morgan?"

Reid shook his head. "No, I'll do it." He looked at Jason. "I need to do it."

….

The house was the same. The same pink flowers. The same curtains visible through the window. Reid sighed as he got out of the car, one-handed, careful not to jar his arm. He walked up the cheerful pathway to the front door and rang the bell. He could hear Pee-Wee from the other side and footsteps padding to the door.

Suddenly, the door was thrown open, and he was face to face with Marie. He suddenly had no idea what to say. For once in his life, words escaped him. But also for once, words were not needed. Marie knew. A sister always knows.

Reid watched as her face crumpled and sobs began to shake her body. She threw herself onto Reid's chest, causing him to gasp in pain, but he ignored that. He wrapped his good arm around her tightly, holding her up so she didn't fall to the ground. Marie was saying something, but it was muffled by Reid's sweater vest.

After what felt like hours but was really only about five minutes, Marie managed to pull away. Her face was red, but still pretty. Her eyes were shiny with still-falling tears and a hand covered her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs momentarily. She sniffled and choked, but began to speak.

"You-you promised. You-you-you s-said you w-would find-d h-her. E-either way, y-you would-d f-find her." She let out another sob, but composed herself quickly. "D-did you?"

Reid nodded gently. "Yes, yes we found her ma'am."

Marie closed her eyes and took a huge shuddering breath before she looked at him again, not sure of what to do now.

Reid said the words he had been thinking about since Gideon had told him the truth. "I am so sorry, Marie. I'm so sorry…we couldn't get to her in time-"

"You did everything you said you would do," sniffed Marie as she wiped her nose on her sweater sleeve. "I'm sorry, too, but I trust that you did everything to your best ability." She breathed deeply again. "My Shannon was a tough girl, Dr. Reid," she said proudly.

Reid felt in necessary to nod. "She went down kicking and screaming and fighting, I can _guarantee you that! _But she was smart, too. She would have known what the outcome would be. And she would have known-" she began to choke again, "that there were people looking for her, searching for the truth, and that they would not let this go unsolved. And she would know-that I love her more than anything, ohmygod! My Shannon," and she began to cry again as Reid held her close.

"Thank you, Dr. Reid," said Marie quietly after she had calmed down. "Thank you for bringing her home to me."

Reid nodded again.

"Will you come? To her funeral, I mean?" Marie asked, looking at him hopefully. "I think she would have wanted you there, as well as your team."

Reid looked up. "Yes, I will be there if you want me to."

She nodded curtly. "I want you to."

Reid got back into the car he came in, drove around the corner, and stopped, pulling over to the side of the road. He sat in silence until he lashed out and smacked his hand against the steering wheel in a fit of unexpected anger. As his hand throbbed, he felt something warm on his face, and he realized he was crying as well.

He wasn't ashamed.

He allowed himself to shed his tears for the girls. For the men. For Shannon.

"_Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again." ~Alex Tan_

…_._

_Author's Note:_

_Hard to write. I could never imagine losing my sister, who is indeed two years, two months and two days older than me, just like Marie and Shannon._

_If you don't review…your power will suddenly go off on the 22__nd__ of next week and you will miss the Criminal Minds season premiere. Ye be warned…_

_With love, MissdaVinci77_


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